Masters of the Maze

Broadcast and production history

A few years before Masters of the Maze first aired, Australian Fenton Rosewarne created a puzzle called "Fenton's Maze", which Janet Weeks said that it combined elements of Trivial Pursuit and Rubik's Cube. Hal Berger, designer of the Power Glove, through his company IMAGE design and entertainment turned Fenton's Maze into an electronic game, licensed the product to Tiger Electronics, and then sold the game show concept to the Family Channel.

The show, a two time Emmy-nominated (1995 and 1996) game show for kids, was taped in a 65-by-85 foot studio at CBS Studio Center. The second season consisted of 40 shows, taped five per day. According to co-executive producer Richard Kline, the concept of the show is "to allow viewers at home to get inside the video game". The opening sequence was created by CBS Digital.

N. F. Mendoza, in an article in the Los Angeles Times printed the day before the show's premiere, referred to defusing a multi-level time bomb, and at one point in the article, referenced the show with the title TimeBomb.

Audition process

For the second season, there were 500 prospective contestants vying for 120 contestant spots. The auditions included a 25-question test, a narrative, as well as inhibition-testing events like a tug-of-war, a story-completion exercise, and a blindfolded trip through an obstacle course of folding chairs.

Gameplay

Round 1 (both versions)

Three two-member teams competed. Each team chose one member to play the question and answer format of the game, while the other went offstage. At this point, the host showed distorted pictures to the players, each of which became more clear as time progressed. The first player to buzz in and identify the picture won ten points and a chance to answer a question about the picture for five additional points. The first two teams to reach 50 points won the right to enter the maze, with the first team doing so earning the right to decide who went into the maze first. After one team reached 50 points, the other teams played out the rest of the round, but without bonus questions. In the speed round, if a player buzzed in and was incorrect or unable to identify the picture, the host read a clue to the opponent without further revealing the picture.

Before being allowed to enter the maze, the runner was briefed on the maze's layout by the "Lady of the Maze". In the Roth season this was simply the face of an older woman (played by Renae Jacobs); in the Lopez season, the likeness of a younger redhead woman appeared with a high-pitched voice (played by Clea Montville). The "Lady of the Maze" also appeared again when the runner had reached the halfway point.

In the earliest episodes, the players were given 10 seconds for each picture, which grew clearer as time passed, and the first person to buzz-in and identify the picture won one point for each second left on the clock, and an opportunity to answer the question about the picture to double the points. When one player earned 50 points or more and the right to enter the maze, the other players played more pictures without the clock, at 10 points per picture, until another player reached 50 points.

Maze

The maze had three sections: the Mirror Maze, the Honeycomb Maze, and the Chamber of Knowledge. The person that answered the questions in the first part of the game was also the one responsible for running through the maze, with their team partner guiding them through the maze by moving a giant joystick. This device controlled a computerized voice telling the contestant which direction to go, and triggered rumble devices on the outfit the runner wore as an additional directional aid. The joystick also had a button that controlled the runner's laser which was used in various parts of the game.

The first section was called the Mirror Maze. In this section, the contestant navigated a series of mirrors. Once the runner reached the end of the Mirror Maze, the "Mirror Man" blocked the path, not moving unless the runner correctly answered a question posed by Roth. A correct answer meant that the runner passed, while an incorrect answer or pass meant that the runner was asked another question. A contestant missing three questions had to wait five more seconds before being allowed to proceed.

Once the runner had passed the Mirror Maze, the runner had to find two of several Power Sticks that were hidden in the mountains between the Mirror Maze and the Honeycomb Maze. Occasionally there was a Power Stick hidden in the Mirror Maze itself. Once the runner found two, they entered the Honeycomb Maze. In this section, the runner had to lower their visor and rely on the partner to guide them through the network of doors and walls.

Once through the Honeycomb Maze, the runner raised the visor and entered a small briefing room. Here, the Lady of the Maze reappeared to give the runner instructions on what to do inside the Chamber of Knowledge, which the runner entered using one of the two Power Sticks.

Inside the Chamber of Knowledge, the runner was asked three different true-or-false questions by three of the six different guardians. A correct answer caused one of the three gates blocking the way out to open. If the runner answered incorrectly, the same guardian asked another true-or-false question. If the runner missed this question, one more true-or-false question was asked. If the runner missed all three, the gate automatically opened after five seconds. Once all three gates were open, the runner exited the chamber (and the maze itself) by inserting his/her remaining power stick into a holder at the finish line to stop the clock.